1 September, Vitebsk / Diana Kurilo - BELTA/. Sensational discoveries have been made during the works conducted by Belarusian and Russian specialists in the Church of the Transfiguration of the Saviour at the Spaso-Yefrosinievsky Monastery in Polotsk. Vladimir Sarabyanov, a highly qualified restorer and chief art critic of the interregional scientific and restoration art department of the Ministry of Culture of Russia, told a BELTA correspondent about them in an interview. Images of the first Russian martyr saints Boris and Gleb have been uncovered. There would be nothing unusual about this, were it not for the time of their depiction – the 12th century, just over a century after their canonisation. Until now, the earliest depictions of the holy brothers were dated to the 13th century. According to Vladimir Sarabyanov, the depiction of the brothers in the Polotsk church bears a portrait resemblance. "Boris and Gleb were considered local saints, so the Byzantine artists who painted the church most likely had to use not canonical iconographic images, the tradition of which was established much later, but portraits that Euphrosyne of Polotsk, who was related to them, possessed." Opposite the wall where the portraits of Boris and Gleb have been uncovered, there is a very rare depiction of the holy martyr Prince Vyacheslav (Wenceslas) of Bohemia, who is deeply revered in the Czech Republic. There are few images of him in Orthodox churches – he is a local saint. According to Vladimir Sarabyanov, the only depiction of the Czech saint in Orthodox churches on the territory of Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus has been uncovered in Polotsk. There is nothing strange about his image being opposite the martyrs Boris and Gleb: the Czech saint prince, like the Russian saint princes, was killed by his brother. However, it remains a mystery why Saint Vyacheslav appeared in the Polotsk church. Perhaps he was connected by some family ties to the princely house of Polotsk. One thing can be said with certainty: if the Czech Republic learns that there is an image of their heavenly patron in the Belarusian city of Polotsk, the flow of Czech pilgrims here will be endless, believes Vladimir Sarabyanov. *** The full text of the interview will be released on the news feed and posted on the BELTA website.-0-

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